Introduction: The Attitudes to Aging Questionnaire (AAQ) was developed to measure attitudes toward the aging process as a personal experience from the perspective of older people. The present study aimed ... [more ▼]

Introduction: The Attitudes to Aging Questionnaire (AAQ) was developed to measure attitudes toward the aging process as a personal experience from the perspective of older people. The present study aimed to validate the French version of the AAQ. Participants and methods: This study examined factor structure, acceptability, reliability and validity of the AAQ’s French version in 238 Belgian adults aged 60 years or older. In addition, participants provided information on demographics, self-perception of their mental and physical health (single items), quality of life (WHOQOL-OLD) and social desirability (DS-36). Results: Exploratory Factor Analysis produced a three-factor solution accounting for 36.9% of the variance. No floor or ceiling effects were found. The internal consistency, measured by Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the AAQ subscales were 0.62 (Physical Change), 0.74 (Psychological Growth), and 0.75 (Psychosocial Loss). A priori expected associations were found between AAQ subscales, self-reported health and quality of life, indicating good convergent validity. The scale also showed a good ability to discriminate between people with lower and higher education levels, supporting adequate known-groups validity. Finally, we confirmed the need to control for social desirability biases when assessing self-reported attitudes toward one’s own aging. Conclusion: The data support the usefulness of the French version of the AAQ for the assessment of attitudes toward their own aging in older people. [less ▲]

Objectives Older people may suffer from stigmas linked to cancer and aging. Although some studies suggested that a negative view of cancer may increase the level of depression, such an association has ... [more ▼]

Objectives Older people may suffer from stigmas linked to cancer and aging. Although some studies suggested that a negative view of cancer may increase the level of depression, such an association has never been studied in the elderly population. Similarly, even though it is established that a negative self-perception of aging has deleterious consequences on mental and physical health in normal aging, the influence in pathological contexts, such as oncology, has not been studied. The main aim of this study is thus to analyze the effect of these two stigmas on the health of elderly oncology patients. Materials and Methods 101 patients suffering from a cancer (breast, gynecological, lung or hematological) were seen as soon as possible after their diagnosis. Their self-perception of age, cancer view and health (physical and mental) was assessed. Results Multiple regressions showed that patients with a more negative self-perception of aging and/or more negative cancer view reported poorer global health. We also observed that negative self-perception of aging was associated with worse physical and mental health, whereas negative cancer views were only linked to worse mental health. No interaction was observed between these two stigmas, suggesting that their action is independent. Conclusion Older patients with cancer face double stigmatization, due to negative self-perception of aging and cancer, and these stigmas have impacts on global and mental health. Self-perception of aging is also linked to physical health. Longitudinal studies will be necessary to analyze the direction of the association between this double stigmatization and health. [less ▲]

Background/aims: This study assesses and compares prevalence of psychological and behavioral symptoms in a Belgian sample of people with and without dementia. Methods: A total of 228 persons older than 65 ... [more ▼]

Background/aims: This study assesses and compares prevalence of psychological and behavioral symptoms in a Belgian sample of people with and without dementia. Methods: A total of 228 persons older than 65 years with dementia and a group of 64 non- demented persons were assessed using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) in 2004. Results: Within the group without dementia, the most frequent symptoms were depression, agitation, and irritability. Within the group with dementia, the most common symptoms were depression, irritability, apathy, and agitation. Prevalence of delusions (P [less ▲]

The aim of this descriptive study was to estimate and compare the association between cognitive decline and quality of life (QOL) for 2 groups of dementia patients differing by place of residence: home or ... [more ▼]

The aim of this descriptive study was to estimate and compare the association between cognitive decline and quality of life (QOL) for 2 groups of dementia patients differing by place of residence: home or institution. Each subject was placed within a specific subgroup according to their Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score and was evaluated by a QOL proxy-assessment [Alzheimer Disease Related Quality of Life (ADRQL)] and a dependency assessment (Katz Activities of Daily Living classification). For the ‘‘at home’’ and ‘‘institution’’ groups, global and subscale ADRQL scores showed significant differences between the 5 MMSE subgroups. Place of residence and MMSE subgroups significantly affected global and subscale ADRQL scores. The MMSE 4 to 8, 9 to 13, and 14 to 18 subgroups had ADRQL global scores significantly better in the institution group than the at home group. In contrast, the MMSE 19 to 23 and 0 to 3 subgroups had similar ADRQL global scores in both places of residence. In conclusion, there is no direct relationship between cognitive decline and QOL, and QOL does not seem to be better at home compared with the institution. [less ▲]

Behavioural and psychological signs and symptoms - BPSD are clinical features of dementia. They have considerable impact on the daily life of patients and their caregivers. The aim of this study is to ... [more ▼]

Behavioural and psychological signs and symptoms - BPSD are clinical features of dementia. They have considerable impact on the daily life of patients and their caregivers. The aim of this study is to show the importance of these disorders in dementia semiology and to assess differences in their prevalence across levels of severity of dementia. The sample is made up of 160 subjects with dementia older than 65 years old. Diagnosis of dementia was based on DSM-IV criteria. BPSD were assessed with the NeuroPsychiatric Inventory-NPI and dementia staging was measured with Clinical Dementia Rating/Modified-CDR-M. Results show that prevalence of delusions is more important in severe dementia and that prevalence of agitation/ aggression is more important in profound dementia. These data may help to clarify objectives and treatment of BPSD. This study raises also some methodological problems with the NPI and underlines the importance to define the different disorders included in certain NPI domains accurately. [less ▲]

Aims: We aimed to examine the association of cognitive decline with quality of life (QoL) in dementia compared to controls and to determine variables associated with QoL. Methods: Every subject was placed ... [more ▼]

Aims: We aimed to examine the association of cognitive decline with quality of life (QoL) in dementia compared to controls and to determine variables associated with QoL. Methods: Every subject was placed within a specific group depending on their designation by the Mini Mental State Examination and evaluated by the Alzheimer’s Disease Related Quality of Life (ADRQL) and clinical assessments. Results: QoL for the mild dementia group was lower (p = 0.08) than that of controls. The very severe dementia group had a significantly lower QoL than the other dementia groups, which all had similar ADRQL scores. The only predictor of ADRQL scores was found to be the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia. Conclusion: There is no direct relationship between cognitive decline and QoL. [less ▲]

in International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry (2007), 22(12), 1201-1207

Objectives To examine the evolution of quality of life (QOL) in demented subjects at base-line, one and 2 years later and to determine clinical variables associated with QOL. Method Longitudinal study of ... [more ▼]

Objectives To examine the evolution of quality of life (QOL) in demented subjects at base-line, one and 2 years later and to determine clinical variables associated with QOL. Method Longitudinal study of a cohort of 127 subjects living at home or in a long-term care institution. A QOL measure (Alzheimer Disease Related Quality of Life; ADRQL) was administered three times. In addition, several clinical instruments (MMSE, IADL, ADL and CDR/M) were also administered. Results ADRQL data analysis did not reveal significant modifications of QOL over the 2-year period, whereas results from clinical instruments showed a significant deterioration. On the group, the variations of ADRQL scores were limited, with some improvement after the first year followed by some deterioration after the second year. On the other hand, ADRQL scores fluctuated every year by at least 10 points for more than 50% of subjects. With dementia evolution, it was observed that the clinical variables were more strongly correlated with ADRQL scores and were more significant predictors. This varied from 5.9% (MMSE) in 2002 to 40.01 % in 2004 (MMSE and CDR/M). Conclusions QOL did not develop in a strictly linear manner following the deterioration of clinical state. This suggests that the evolution of QOL is also determined by other variables relating to the physical and social environment of the patients. Their role seems particularly important for the mild to moderate stages of dementia. Copyright (c) 2007 John Wiley [less ▲]